Redesigning the Auto: A Key to Solving the U.S. Energy
The automobile is a tremendous consumer of energy. The entire transport sector uses 26% of the energy used in the U.S.�� and half the oil. In fact, the American auto alone consumes one-ninth...
Threaded Rebars Spin Down Time
A rebar splicing technique was a major factor in saving two year's construction time on California's $33 million, 9000 ft (2743 m) Antioch Bridge. Rebar splicing...
Repair and Strengthening of Old Steel Truss Bridges
During the early 1900's, numerous pin jointed steel bridge trusses were constructed throughout the United States. In the intervening years, these trusses were replaced by...
Fatigue Cracking�Problem for Welded Steel Bridges
A recent problem with welded steel bridges is fatigue cracking at welded details. Fatigue cracks begin in small flaws or discontinuities at welded connections and grow to a critical size...
New River Gorge Bridge: World's Longest Steel Arch
For 45 years, the Bayonne Bridge had reigned as the world's longest steel arch bridge. No longer. The New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia has a steel arch spanning 1700...
Building New Bridges from Old
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Co. needed a new 150-ft (64-m) two-span railroad bridge. Minimum time and low cost were the demands. In response, the designers used steel girders...
Dredge-and-Fill Saves $2 Million at Steel Mill Built in Swamp
The Georgetown Texas Steel Corp., in late 1973, accepted the challenge of developing a previously cleared cypress swamp on the east side of the Neches River across from Beaumont, Texas....
Drexel Students Build Space Frame as Senior Project
Drexel University's geodesic tri-span is an open-air monumental structure conceived, designed, fabricated and constructed by a group of senior civil engineering students to...
Gophers Go Underground
A major facility, Williamson Hall, was constructed to be almost entirely below grade on the East Bank Campus of the University of Minnesota. Heating and cooling energy requirements will...
Modern Concrete Structures Survive Romanian Earthquake
On March 4, 1977, 35 buildings collapsed during a severe earthquake (7.2 on the Richter scale) in Bucharest, Romania. Thirty-two of the 35 were older structures, erected before World War...
New River Gorge Bridge: World's Longest Steel Arch
The world's longest steel arch bridge, spanning the New River Gorge Bridge in the south central area of West Virginia, is scheduled to be completed in Sept. 1977. The main...
Exxon's Offshore Platform Nearly Doubles Water-Depth Record
In 1976, Exxon erected near Santa Barbara (Los Angeles metropolitan area) the Hondo platform, in 850 ft of water. This is nearly twice the previous record depth established in the North...
Bridge Erection by Launching is Fast, Safe, and Efficient
The construction of long prestressed concrete bridges without using formal falsework or self-supporting launching falsework is described. Using the so-called incremental launching method...
Precast Veneer Replaced By All-Precast Structure
Utilizing engineering solutions to architectural problems greatly enhanced the architectural appearance of this building. Long-span prestressed, light weight concrete beams, post-tensioned...
The Querverschub of the 2,000-ft Oberkassel Bridge
In 1976 West German bridge engineers undertook the moving of the largest structure ever moved in one piece and in such a short period of time. The Oberkassel Bridge connecting Dusseldorf...
King Post Truss System Cuts Roof Framing Cost by 30%
The design was based on requirements for minimally obstructed sight lines (Robin Hood Dell Open-Air Theater, Philadelphia, Pa.) for outdoor seating and a tight construction budget of $4,500,000....
Pasco-Kenneewick Bridge�� The Longest Cable-Stayed Bridge in North America
This 2503-ft long structure, built in an earthquake zone, is only the second of its kind to be constructed in the U.S. It boasts a continuous concrete girder, supported from steel cables...
Rebar Splices: Cutting Costs, Avoiding Errors
Practical advice for cost-cutting in reinforced concrete construction suggests improvements in accepted design and specifications, procedures and specific items. Brief recommendations...
Computer Slashes Time and Cost of Structural Design
An existing computer program for designing floor framing was modified to simplify usage. A preprocessor program was written to reduce the amount and complexity of the input data. A description...
The Modernization of a Small Hydro Plant
The Cornell Hydro in Northern Wisconsin was torn down, rebuilt, re-equipped and put into profitable operation. After extensive structural modifications to the old plant, three new 10,000...
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